Gartner announces rankings of its 2017 Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25

Gartner, Inc. has released its ninth annual Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 ranking. The ranking recognises companies across the healthcare value chain that demonstrate leadership in improving human life at sustainable costs.

"The importance of supply chain leadership has manifested itself in a very literal way in 2017," said Stephen Meyer, research director at Gartner. "A number of supply chains made changes at the top of their organisations that resulted in radical shifts in strategy. In many cases, these shifts seemed to be very myopic and siloed rather than focusing on the outside-in strategies that are important for moving healthcare collectively forward. Conversely, supply chains with strong leadership, like those recognised in our 2017 ranking, are embracing external partnership along with exploring the benefits that new abilities, like digital technology and advanced analytics, can bring."

Intermountain Healthcare remained in the top spot in the Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2017 for the second straight year (see Table 1). Intermountain Healthcare has a history of using supply chain strategically to support its corporate mission. New developments from the leadership team led by the new CEO, Dr. Marc Harrison, continue to demonstrate the relationship of supply chain to Intermountain Healthcare's mission of "Helping People Live the Healthiest Lives Possible." Supply chain is an integral part of the shared support services foundation that helps connect its change from a geographic structure of care to one based on two segments: a community care group focused on wellness and primary care and a specialty care group focused on inpatient and specialty care.

Mayo Foundation returned to the No. 2 position in the 2017 ranking. Mayo Foundation realises that strong foundational capabilities are a necessity, and it has worked to bolster its fundamentals primarily through expanding the capabilities and reach of its Upper Midwest Consolidated Services Center (UMCSC). While the service centre has been in use for nearly 10 years, Mayo Foundation has made strides to increase its use beyond its own health system. Mayo Foundation's role as the provider of sourcing and contracting for the UMCSC continues to expand, and membership has grown to over 60 hospitals in the region.

Cardinal Health moved down one spot to No. 3 in this year's ranking. While Cardinal Health's pharmaceutical wholesale business faces significant downward pressure on its generic drug pricing, the balance of the business is on the move to expand its capabilities. Cardinal Health continues a strategic shift in supply chain toward the patient in services offered to the patient in nonacute settings and toward more vertical integration of manufacturing in its medical products segment.

McKesson continues its dedication to developing a strong supply chain, moving up one spot to No. 4 in 2017 from No. 5 in 2016. Long known for its distribution expertise, McKesson is demonstrating its dedication to solving healthcare problems by providing solutions that leverage its scale, with a goal of driving efficiency and quality.

Johnson & Johnson made a leap into the top five this year, up three spots year-over-year, paralleling a big jump in the Global 2017 Supply Chain Top 25. While the company has never struggled in developing its supply chain strategy, the challenge in recent years has been in implementing that strategy due to its varied business units, global footprint and matrixed organisation. However, Johnson & Johnson has proven in the last two years that it can successfully propagate supply chain strategy across the supply chains of its three distinct business units: Janssen (pharmaceuticals), MD&D (medical devices), and consumer.

"Many questions regarding the future of healthcare are unresolved and likely will remain that way for at least the near term," said Mr Meyer. "Despite this uncertainty, Gartner expects leading supply chains to move forward decisively and seek out willing partners, leverage digital technology, and obsess over their customers to find new ways to make their supply chains an essential part of the future of healthcare."

More detailed analysis is available in the report "The Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 for 2017." Additional analysis on the Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25 is also available in the complimentary Gartner webinar "Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25." Accompanying this year's Healthcare Supply Chain Top 25, Gartner introduced four new awards based on the peer vote component of the ranking. J&J and Boston Scientific were recognised by health system peer voters for Best Manufacturer and Honourable Mention Manufacturer, respectively. Manufacturer peer voters recognised Intermountain Healthcare as the Best Health System and BJC HealthCare as the Honourable Mention Health System."

Other Resources

About Us

Established in 1997, Manufacturing & Logistics IT Magazine (LogisticsIT.com) is the leading specialist IT solutions magazine and web-site covering all aspects of end-to-end supply chains within a wide range of vertical markets. The editorial content covers real live applications within collaborative supply chain environments and has contribution from leading vendors and research analysts. This provides our readers with an insight into how technological developments enable all kinds of businesses to operate effectively and efficiently.